Apparatus for stripping insulation



y 2, 1950 G. F. BRANSON 2,506,060

APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INSULATION 4 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16, 1946 Inventor:

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APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INSULATION Filed Sept. 16, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 In en for;

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APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INSULATION Filed Sept. 16, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 az'Z/ord Ffiranson.

his Aifarnff/ Patented May 2, 1950 U ED STATE ATEN o -mfi Gni iqtrF- H n, Willa, w; An u am swamp 16, s gs t ia' u hla ior is sp nt and qie co a mfiq ii efiectipg such copncqiqf sj n t r h fl t'q i gn iqnk is &0 asu and u l h in u at on m l n h Q isl l aat q Q u WW? and t r Objects a fi a a n?! b em l m f i ve t z which 'fimh ld fi m s fimifi a n n n 1. iv an? e t li w w h le f be; g dvah'gedg exl tiiig. siiffigient pr e shrei on @130 "q sid s h u at'i t mm the? c n {nit thi pugh and s paiqte, the insulgtioh s r ps; w v j other f a u tw htl l szd g means. o qvancg. an insu atadcable in 3 met 11" lea path t ijuu l} the g 3 secured to the shaft 4| is a draft roll 43, while a feed roll 44 is keyed to the shaft 42. The periphery of the feed roller 44 is knurled as at 45 (Fig. 6). Like the shafts 22 and 32 the shafts 4| and 42 extend beyond the outermost plate 24 and keyed or otherwise secured to these shafts are pinions 46 and 41 respectively. These pinions mesh with a pinion 48 which is mounted to rotate about a stud 49 carried by the outer face of the outermost support 24, and this pinion 48 is so located as to be in constant mesh with the pinion 36. It will thus be seen that when the shaft 22 is set into motion the feed rollers 33 and 44 and the draft rolls 33 and 43 will be driven in unison.

In order to advance the rolls 43 and 44 upwardly toward the rolls 33' and 33, respectively, wedge members and 5| are mounted on the base l5 to slide through the slots 29 and 30, respectively, and resting on the upper inclined edge of each wedge member is a carriage designated generally 52 (Fig. Each carriage comprises a base plate 53 having an inclined under face 54, which coincides with the upper inclined edge of its respective wedge member so that as the wedge members are moved longitudinally through the slots 29 and 30 the car riages 52 will be raised or lowered. Extending upwardly from each end of the base 53 of each carriage 52 is a flange 55, and each flange is formed with a centrally disposed arcuate recess 56, to receive a bushing 40. Extending transversely between the reduced ends of the wedge members 50 and 5| is a cross bar 51 (Fig. 9) and formed midway between opposite ends of the cross bar is an internally screw threaded opening 58 for the reception of a longitudinally extending screw threaded shaft 59. The outer end of this shaft is provided with a squared extension 60, while its opposite end is mounted for rotation in the outermost plate 24 but held against longitudinal movement. It will thus be seen that when the shaft 59 is rotated the cross bar 51 and wedge members 50 and 5| will be moved longitudinally of the base |5.

Detachably secured as at 60' to the rear edge of the base 53 of the carriage 52 in which the shaft 4| is supported, is a scraper blade 6| carrying an adjusting screw 62, the end of the shank of which bears against an angle bracket 63 carried by the aforesaid carriage. The scraping edge of the blade is sharpened as illustrated in Fig. 5 and is adapted to bear against the periphery of the roller 43 to scrape any debris therefrom.

A cover 64 encloses the top and front of the stripping mechanism extending over the upper and front edges of the plates 24 and formed in the front vertical wall of this cover 64 is an opening 65 in which a guide bushing 56 is fitted. The axis of this guide bushing 66 lies substantially tangent to the bottom of the periphery of the feed roll 33 so that a cable to be stripped when introduced into the bushing will encounter the periphery of the feed roll and be fed thereby into the machine.

Carried by the rear edge of the cover 64 and lying in a vertical plane substantially tangent to the draft roll 33' is a depending tongue 61 to which a scraper blade 63 is detachably secured as by an attaching screw 69. This blade carries an adjusting screw 10, the end of the shank of which bears against an angle bracket 1| secured to the upper face of the top of the cover 64 immediately above the tongue 61. The lower edge of the blade 68 is sharpened and is adapted to '4 bear on the periphery of the roll 33' to scrape any debris from the peripheral surface thereof.

Supported substantially midway between the rolls 33 and 33' is an angle guide designated generally 12 which comprises a tubular body 13, having a smoothly rounded mouth I4 into which the conductor to be stripped from its insulation is introduced. The lower portion of the mouth 14 of the tubular body 13 lies in alignment with the upper portion of the feed roll 44 and the axis of the tubular guide 13 inclines downwardly toward the rear end of the machine so that the upper portion of the rear end of the guide 13 aligns with the lower portion of the draft roll 33'. Hence as an insulated cable is advanced by the rolls in a rectilinear path through the guide 13 pressure will be exerted on the insulating sheath and cause it to be squeezed against the conductor. Such squeezing of the sheath will cause the conductor to slit the sheath and facilitate the separation of the sheath from the conductor.

Suitable oil ducts 14' lead from the bearing bushings 3| and 40 upwardly through openings in the cover 64 adjacent the plates 24 so that the shafts operating in the bushings may be easily lubricated.

In use it will be understood that the attachment plug I8 is entered into a convenient electric power outlet and upon closing the switch IS the motor I5 will be set into operation, thus driving the shaft 2| and the train of speed reduction gears in the housing 20. This will drive the shaft 22 and thence through the medium of the gear 36 the gears 38 and 48 will be set in motion. Through the medium of the gears 31 and 41 the shafts 32 and 42 of the feed rolls 33 and 44 will be driven so that an insulated conductor introduced into the machine through the bushing 66 will de directed into the mouth 14 of the angle guide 12. Simultaneously with the driving of the feed rolls and the draft roll 33', the draft roll 43 will be driven through the gear 46, so that the cable emerging from the angle guide 12 will be gripped by the draft rolls 33 and 43 and advanced in a rectilinear path through the angle guide 12. The advance of the cable in the rectilinear path will cause the insulation on the cable to contact the angle guide on opposite sides so as to press the insulation toward the conductor and cause the conductor to cut through the insulation and form longitudinal slits or incisions therein, with the result that the insulation may be easily stripped from the conductor or conductors. The distance between the feed rolls 33 and 44 and the distance between the draft rolls 33 and 43 may be Varied by turning the threaded shaft 59 to move the wedge members 50 and 5| and thus raise or lower the carriages 52. It will thus be seen that the machine may be employed to strip cable of varying sizes.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In an insulation stripper of the type having spaced pairs of rolls between which a conductor is moved in a rectilinear path, means for removing an insulating sheath from said conductor as it is moved by the rolls, said means comprising an elongated tubular guide member mounted between said pairs of rolls in encircling relation to the conductor, said guide member lying along an inclined axis which intersects the rectilinear path, and the upper portion of the guide member adjacent one end thereof aligning with the lower portion of the upper roll of one pair of rolls while the lower portion of the guide member adjacent the opposite end thereof aligns with the upper portion of the lower roll of the opposite pair of rolls and forcing the sheath to be split by the conductor.

2. In an insulation stripper of the type having spaced pairs of rolls between which a conductor is moved in a rectilinear path, means for removing an insulating sheath from said conductor as it is moved by the rolls, said means comprising an elongated tubular guide member mounted between said pairs of rolls in encircling relation to the conductor, said guide member lying along an inclined axis which intersects the rectilinear path,

substantially midway between the spaced pairs of rolls, and opposite portions of said guide member adjacent opposite ends thereof aligning with the lower roll of one pair of rolls and the upper roll of the opposite pair of rolls respectively whereby 6 as the conductor is moved opposite sides of the sheath will be pressed toward the conductor and slit thereby.

GUILFORD F. BRANSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Date 

